Last week I was walking through Grosvenor Square with my sister and my two children on the way to the Royal Academy of Arts to see the Anish Kapoor exhibition when i spotted a huge Golden Eagle in the sky. It appeared to be flying through the autumn leaves. I took my camera from my pocket and immediately started to play with the perspectives - I liked the idea of making the Eagle appear as if it was flying through the thick shock of orange, brown and blonde half dead leaves.
I was having fun, (but no success) when I heard a voice, "Excuse me sir".
I looked up to see an armed policeman popping his head over the hedge in front of the embassy.
"Oh no, don't tell me I can't take a picture of the Eagle?" I said, my good mood had now scarpered.
The policeman was friendly, he smiled and said no, I could take photographs of the Eagle but that i mustn't take pictures of the ground floor area. I didn't argue (I would have in my younger days) as he was polite and he spoke softly.
My son was fascinated and quickly asked me why?
I tried to explain to him why i thought the policeman had made the request without going into too much detail (because I wasn't 100% sure myself) - we left the Square, our moods flattened by the guardians of the Eagle.
We made our way to the Anish Kapoor exhibition. One of the exhibits was of a cannon that fired a mixture of red wax and oil at the internal walls of the gallery every 20 minutes. The walls were splattered with the blood red substance, chunks of red haunches of the stuff spilled from the doorway. The audience was gripped.
When we left the building we took another look at The Tree and the Eye by Mr Kapoor in the courtyard, it brought the smiles back to our faces.
The Quiet Busker.
Comments
I think there was an Eagle on the stamp.